Christopher Bailey stormed it yet again with an epic show on London Fashion Week's so-called Super Monday that was nothing short of exquisite. The Burberry Chief Creative Officer always stages spectacular theatre - and this season was no different.

To the sounds of Misty Miller's Happy Together Edie Campbell opened the show, modelling a tan leather skirt that told of the camels and rich chestnut browns tones to come.

Cara Delevingne walked next, in a cheeky translucent rubber pencil skirt and heart top that embodied the spirit of the collection: playful, saucy and a little bit kinky.

I swear I saw Prince Albert give a
wink from his perch up on the memorial plinth next to the stage when she sauntered out
onto the catwalk, staged in a gleaming glass box among the trees in Kensington Gardens, wearing the see-through skirt, with nothing but a
pair of heart-print knickers underneath.

It was a naughty but nice look that set the scene for what was a
show of contrasts that gently subverted the long legacy of this heritage brand.

Britain's most infamous showgirl and political mistress was referenced in the show's title - Trench Kisses: A collection of classics and Christine Keeler - setting a mischievous tone for the hint of sexiness - and wickedness - to come.

Scroll down to watch the show in full

Subverting tradition: Cara Delevingne walked
second in an outfit that embodied the very spirit of the show - vinyl
skirt with heart-print knickers beneath that managed to be at once both
prim and kinky

'I like the idea of taking something that has gravitas, this 158 year old brand, but making it subversive and kinky,' Christopher Bailey said afterwards.

That translated as traditional fabrics and classic shapes given edge
with vinyl, patent leather and metal.

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With the launch of Burberry's new beauty
range, those shimmering gold collars and embellishments were intended, Bailey said, to
cast their light onto the models' faces and really make them glow. And they did (though having 22-year-old models with the skin of a radiant cherub helped, I'm sure).

But while there was plenty of sauce and a fair few pairs of knickers on show, this was by no means a gimmicky collection.

Colours were iconic Burberry tones: red, white, camel, oxblood, black and gold. Coats, dozens of them, and each more darn covetable than the last, streamed endlessly down the catwalk.

Heartprint calfskin trench: 'I wanted to clash the contrasting worlds of sweet and sexy', Bailey said

Golden girl: Cara Delevingne modelled a metallic collar Bailey said was
intended to cast light on to the models' faces to make them really glow

Iconic: A red corset dress with oxblood trim was in typical Burberry tones

Classic: A trad camel coat was given edge with gold metal eyelets and a shimmering metal belt

Return of the kitten heel! Cara and the rest of the models wore low, pointed kittens for a prim walk

Cara's navy double-breasted coat with its wide lapels and gold belt was stand-out, as was a creamy camel number with gold eyelets, teamed with a fringed leather bag in oxblood.

Only a true fashion insider could have all the words necessary to tell of the veritable army of styles that we saw - but I can tell you there were trench coats, cabans, Chesterfields, Regimental greatcoats and cropped bikers... and that was just for starters.

CATWALK SOUNDTRACK

Happy Together by Misty Miller

Picking Up The Pieces (acoustic version) by Paloma Faith

Hold Me by Tom Odell

The theme of the show made for a playful yet provocative vibe, Bailey said backstage afterwards.

'It's sassy, sexy. I like the idea of an inverted world. there's traditional trench coats mixed with rubber,' he said. Or little sweethearts under rubber skirts.

'It's the idea of these two worlds clashing. Something sweet contrasting with something sexy. Heritage and established with something sassy and naughty. There's an air of elegance, but underneath there's this kinkiness.'

Bailey said his models were actually quite prim - providing a backdrop that allowed him to add a touch of sauce with the styling.

'I put the girls in these kitten wedges so they had quite a prim walk,' he said. 'But then I put them in these vinyl skirts, patent leather, rubber, metal. Something to make the heart race.'

And race it did - no more so than during the epic finale, when a stage opened at the back of the catwalk and the haunting voice of rising Brit star Tom Odell's Hold Me soared to a crescendo accompanied by a cello, the piano and a heavenly choir.

The benches vibrated and a moved crowd simultaneously developed goosebumps from head to toe.

Tinie Tempah - a man not often moved
to tears one might suppose - declared the show 'emotional', while Bailey
himself said he almost had a little weep during the pre-show
run-through, so powerful was the setting and the music.

If it all sounds a little hyperbolic, I'll just say you had to be there.

The spectacular staging of his shows is certainly no
accident. The man who never rests says he is already thinking about the
production for his Spring/Summer show, which won't take place until
September.

'Usually at the end of a show I'm thinking about the next one,' he says. 'I'll go back to the office now and write them down.'

'Music is so important to the shows. because shows are all about
entertainment and they're about emotion, and about making people feel
something.'

'People have to feel it in the fashion, but also in the lighting, the
music, the atmosphere.

It's a combination of all of those things.'

In what is a world first, the items are already up on the Burberry website available to pre-order until 3 March - and worth a look if only to perv upon the items up close.

FUTURE OF FASHION: SEEN SOMETHING YOU LIKE? BUY IT NOW AND HAVE IT DELIVERED PERSONALISED WITH YOUR NAME

Burberry this season launched Runway Made To Order, which allows shoppers to watch the show, pick their favourite looks and pre-order them now. They will arrive in nine weeks time and will be personalised with a metal plaque bearing the buyer's name. A (wealthy) shopaholic's fantasy.

Ahead of the curve: The collection is already shot and up on the site, with a catwalk shot from today's show on the front page

Pre-order: Runway Made To Order allows shoppers to buy what they saw on the catwalk

Personalised: The pre-ordered pieces will come with the buyer's name engraved on a metal tag

VIDEO A kinky makeover for Burberry. Catch the whole of the A/W13 catwalk here